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We are a collection of researchers working in a wide variety of fields including microbiology, ecology, agriculture, dairy science, marine biology, and the philosophy of science. What do we have in common? A desire to bring science in easily digestible and understandable pieces for those who are interested. Here, we plan to start a conversation about science, how science is done, and put this conversation in the context we understand best, the science that we do.

A few years ago I would have been spending these snowy days in a couple of (minimally) heated greenhouses, surrounded by thousands of small growing plants. At the time, I was doing research on salad green production to see if it is feasible to do throughout a New England winter. The thing is, not all salad greens are actually green.

The endemic Panamánian golden frog was at risk of complete extinction from the threat of a pathogenic fungus. It has since been raised in captivity with the hope of reintroduction to the wild. The only problem: the fungus is still around. Learn how researchers are developing a treatment for these amphibians involving mutualistic fungus-fighting bacteria in this month's mutualism.

Last week I found out it takes more than three and a half gallons of water to grow one head of lettuce. Maybe you saw this article too. I wasn’t sure if that was a lot of water or not - plants do need water to grow. But how much do they need? Digging further into the source of the article, I found a concept that I hadn’t heard about - the water footprint of a crop.

In October of 2006 a lake effect storm, called 'Aphid' raged through the actual city of Buffalo (whereas, this years storm was actually south of the city). As part of the plant community, I know a narrow selection of Buffalonians, but those I know are quite passionate - they still talk of the devastation to the trees that this storm caused.

Why does a plant grow a new leaf? Or start to flower? Or send out a branch of new roots? What tells a plant to - go? For centuries these underlying questions have employed plant physiologists; Prior to plant physiology even becoming a field of study.

Those of us living in temperate climates are all too familiar with the change of the seasons, but how much do we know about the biochemical changes that result in this vivid change in scenery? This FTDM post describes one of many molecules involved in leaf color composition: anthocyanins.

This month’s mutualism is between the nectar-robbing purple sunbird Nectarina asiatica and a small flowering tree, the desert teak Tecomella undulata, particularly how the purple sunbird impacts the relationship between desert teak and its two pollinating birds: the red-vented bulbul Pycnonotus caferand the white-eared bulbul P. leucotis.

Thousands and thousands of years ago, humans began domesticating plants and animals. This happened independently in at least seven areas worldwide as people transitioned from hunter gathering to agrarian societies. Mesoamerica was one of these seven regions, and the birthplace of many beloved foods, including maize, beans, cocoa, cotton and today’s topic: squash.

I feel like drones are everywhere in the news, and never with a good connotation. Really though, there is a myriad of useful applications for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), so let’s think of them as a tool for good rather than a weapon-carrying-device. In my case I’m thinking about agriculture, and how these tool can be used to grow crops.

Feed the data monster

As scientists, we hope that the quality of our work speaks for itself. The truth is, however, we as scientists need to speak for our work. Here, we plan to start a conversation about science, how science is done and put this conversation in the context we understand best, the science that we do. We are a collection of researchers working in a wide variety of fields including microbiology, ecology, agriculture, dairy science, marine biology and the philosophy of science. What do we have in common? A general desire to bring science in easily digestible and understandable pieces for those who are interested.

A collection of researchers working in a wide variety of fields with a desire to bring science in easily digestible and understandable pieces for those who are interested. Stay Hungry!